Providing real time information in a visual information unit

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention enable a person to easily and without having any specialized knowledge configure a webpage to automatically provide real time information. More specifically, embodiments of the invention are directed to a remotely hosted element which may be easily configured and placed in a webpage by an un-sophisticated publisher. The remotely hosted element provides the real time information. In certain embodiments, the real time information is stock quotes, charts and associated news items. In certain embodiments, the real time information unit is interactive. In other words, it allows webpage viewers to interact with it in order to cause it to show additional, or differently organized information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The popularity of the Internet has caused many people to create websitesand webpages. A person that has created, owns, administers, or otherwisecontrols a webpage or a website will be hereinafter referred to as awebpage publisher or publisher. Simple webpages usually consist of asingle HTML file whose content stays constant until the webpagepublisher “manually” changes it. However, more complex websites andwebpages may be designed to provide real time information. Such webpagesare configured to display “dynamic” content or to automatically changetheir content without explicit involvement from the publisher or anyother person.

Dynamic webpages are usually very complex. In order to automaticallyprovide new content in real time, they usually require complex softwarewhich periodically accesses various databases and modifies the contentof the webpage according to the accessed data. Thus, a webpage mayautomatically provide information about the world in real time bycontinuously accessing changing databases of that information. The realtime information may be, for example, stock quotes.

An important development in the popularization of the Internet is theemergence of the amateur webpage publisher. That is, persons withoutdeep or professional knowledge of web programming have been able tostart and maintain various webpages or websites. Basic HTML authoringtools have made webpage creation accessible to persons with little or noknowledge of HTML. Furthermore, there are websites such as BLOGGER.COMwhich allow users to create webpages very easily, without having anyknowledge of HTML.

However, the amateur web publisher usually does not have sufficientknowledge of databases and automatic content creation to create webpageswhich change their content automatically (dynamic webpages).

Remotely hosted elements are elements of a webpage which are notprovided as part of the webpage from the computer that hosts thatwebpage. Instead, the remotely hosted element is hosted by anothercomputer. That other computer is usually controlled by a differententity than the one controlling the webpage. The webpage includes areference to the remotely hosted element. When a browser displays thewebpage, it notes the reference and uses it to access the other computerand retrieve the remotely hosted element.

Most known remotely hosted elements are advertisements. Theadvertisements may change over time, i.e. a different advertisement maybe displayed after each webpage reload. However, advertisements areusually manually prepared before hand. Therefore, advertisements do notprovide real time information.

Another type of remotely hosted element is a search box. A search box isa field which allows a viewer of the webpage to send web search requeststo remotely hosted search engines. The search box itself usuallyprovides no real time information.

What is needed is a way to allow a person that does not have theknowledge, ability or desire to deal with the complexities of generatingdynamic content to configure his/her webpage so that it automaticallyprovides real time information.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention enable a person to easily and withouthaving any specialized knowledge configure a webpage to automaticallyprovide real time information.

More specifically, embodiments of the invention are directed to aremotely hosted element which may be easily configured and placed in awebpage by an unsophisticated publisher. The remotely hosted elementprovides the real time information. In certain embodiments, the realtime information may include stock quotes, charts and associated newsitems.

In certain embodiments, the real time information unit is interactive.In other words, it allows webpage viewers to interact with it in orderto cause it to show additional or differently organized information. Incertain embodiments, the real time information unit can be placed in avisual information unit other than a webpage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an overall environment of operation ofembodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing a method of operation of anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example badge according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the electronic representation of abadge according to an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer system that may be employed to implementembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While various embodiments of the invention may be configured to providedifferent types of information, the embodiments discussed herein providemostly stock prices and other financial information. Financialinformation, although merely representative of various embodiments, isan appropriate illustrative choice because financial informationembodiments represent an existing market need and furthermore, financialinformation is convenient to use in the context of the invention as manyexisting databases of financial information are available.

The invention is described below with reference to webpages. However,persons of skill in the art would recognize that the invention may notbe limited to webpages but is applicable to any visual information unit.A visual information unit is any set of information which is configuredto be at least partially visually represented to a user. In addition tovisual information, the visual information unit may also include audioor video information.

FIG. 1 shows an overall environment in which the invention operates. Afinancial information server 102 is a backend server that provides rawfinancial data. This server usually includes a database which holdsfinancial data. The financial data may include prices of varioussecurities or other traded elements (commodities, currencies, contracts,indices, rates, scores etc., hereinafter also referred to assecurities). Furthermore, the financial data may include graphs of theaforementioned securities. The financial data may also include articles(such as, for example, news articles, blogs, editorials, columnistarticles, message board posts, etc.) about financial matters. Eacharticle may be associated with one or more securities.

The badge server 101 creates and provides the remotely hosted element ofthe invention. The remotely hosted element may be referred to as abadge. The badge server creates the remotely hosted element based ondata provided from the financial information server and configurationparameters provided from a publisher who has included the remotelyhosted element in his/her website.

In some embodiments, the financial information server 102 and the badgeserver 101 are controlled by the same entity. In these embodiments, thefinancial information server and the badge server are connected througha backend network 103. The backend network is a network which is notpublicly accessible but limited to the entity that controls theseservers. Usually, the back end network is configured to be faster thanthe ordinary public networks. In alternative embodiments, the backendnetwork may be any network, including the Internet 100.

The webpage server 104 is a server that provides a webpage or website107 that is configured to take advantage of the invention. In otherwords, the publisher of the webpage 107 has included the remotely hostedelement (or badge) of the present invention into the webpage 107. Thus,the publisher is a user of the invention.

An end user may utilize a computer 105 which includes a browser 106 toview webpage 107. The end user is a person that views a webpage; he neednot have participated in the design of the webpage 107. The end userviews the badge as part of the webpage 107, and may further interactwith the badge.

The end user's browser 106 obtains some or most of the webpage 107 fromthe webpage server 104 through the Internet 100. The browser thenobtains the badge from the badge server 101. The browser may thendisplay the entire webpage 107 to the user by combining the portionsobtained from the webpage server 104 with the badge obtained from thebadge server. The end user then benefits from the badge by viewing theinformation on there and/or interacting with the badge to obtain moreinformation.

A person of skill in the art would recognize that the internet 100 maybe another network, such as an intranet, a LAN, a wireless network, etc.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing a method of operation of anembodiment of the invention. FIG. 2A shows the configuration of a badge,while FIG. 2B shows the process of display or use of a badge.

Referring to FIG. 2A, at step 200 a publisher obtains an account with aservice associated with the invention (referred to as a badge service).This step is optional. Requiring publishers to obtain accounts may havevarious benefits, as it allows information for specific publishers to betracked by the badge service. The account need not be limited to thebadge service but may be a general account associated with multipleservices.

At step 202, the publisher configures a badge. The configurationspecifies the overall appearance of the badge as well as the informationprovided by it. For example, the publisher may choose from the followingtypes of information: stock quotes, stock charts, quotes and charts forother securities, and news items. If choosing to display charts, thepublisher may choose the time period over which the charts should bedisplayed. The publisher may also choose the number of news items to bedisplayed. If charts are to be displayed, the publisher may choosewhether they are to be displayed in an overlaid comparison fashion or asseparate graphs.

The publisher may choose various options pertaining to the overallorganization of the displayed information. The publisher may also choosethe size and the color scheme of the badge.

The publisher may perform step 202 by interacting with a configurationwebsite associated with the badge service. The website may be providedby badge server 101 or another server. While the publisher is performingvarious configuration choices, the configuration website may dynamicallyshow what a badge created according to the publisher's currentlyselected choices would look like.

At step 204, the badge service provides the publisher with badgereference text. The badge reference text is meant to be inserted intothe definition of a webpage, such as webpage 107, in order to cause thebadge to be displayed by a browser rendering that webpage (such asbrowser 106). An example of the reference text is shown in appendix A.

The reference text may be an HTML inline frame (iframe) definition asshown in Appendix A. An HTML inline frame allows one to embed an HTMLdocument into another HTML document. Thus, the badge may be defined asan HTML document and embedded into a parent HTML document, such aswebpage 107. As discussed below the inline frame may include JAVASCRIPTor FLASH code. Alternatively, the reference text may be an applet (suchas, e.g., a JAVASCRIPT or a FLASH applet) or a reference to an applet,which is placed directly into the webpage without using an inline frame.

The reference text includes a reference to the badge server 101 whichwill provide the actual HTML definition of the badge. The reference textmay also include text describing the various configuration optionschosen by the publisher. For example, the reference text shown inAppendix A describes the width and height of the badge (200 pixels, and714 pixels, respectively), the symbols of the securities shown by thebadge (YHOO, F, and AMD) the choice that the securities should be shownin comparison fashion (i.e., with the graphs being super imposed), thechoice that the chart should be for a one year period, the choice of awhite color scheme, the choice that three news items should bedisplayed, etc.

When the reference text is created, the badge service may create arecord associated with the badge, assign a unique identification to thatrecord and store the record at the badge server 101. The reference textmay thus include the unique identification associated with the badge aswell as the account name of the publisher that configured the badge or aunique identification associated with that name. For security purposesthese two elements of the reference text may be encrypted.

In an alternative embodiment, the reference text may not include any ofthe configuration parameters discussed above. Instead it may onlyinclude the unique identification of the badge record and, optionally,of the publisher's account. The configuration options may be stored aspart of the badge record at the badge server 101.

At step 206, the publisher inserts the reference text in the webpage inwhich the publisher wishes to place a badge (such as, webpage 107). Inaccordance with known HTML rules, by placing the reference text inspecific places in the webpage definition, and/or placing additional“tags” associated with the reference text, the publisher may define theposition of the badge within the webpage.

At this point, the badge is configured. FIG. 2B shows the method ofdisplay of the configured badge in ordinary course of use of anembodiment of the invention. At step 208, the end user accesses thewebpage which includes the reference text (such as webpage 107) througha browser, such as browser 106. At step 210, the browser obtains thewebpage definition of the webpage from the webpage server.

Having obtained the webpage definition, the browser accesses thereference text (step 212). Based on a reference to the badge server inthe reference text, the browser sends a request to the badge server instep 214. The request includes portions of the reference text which listthe configuration options and identifying information discussed above.

At step 216, the badge server creates a badge definition and sends itback to the browser. The badge definition is created by referring to theconfiguration options received in the request and querying the financialinformation server for financial data which may be used to createcharts, provide quotes and headlines for news stories. The news storiesmay be news stories which refer to the securities which the badge isconfigured to show. The badge definition may be in HTML format.Furthermore, the badge definition may include code, such as JAVASCRIPTor FLASH code which may provide advanced interactivity features.

At step 218, the browser receives the badge definition and renders thewebpage, including the badge. The badge may be rendered as an inlineframe within the webpage.

At step 220, the end user views the badge and the real time informationcontained therein. The end user may interact with the badge in order toview additional information.

In various embodiments, the badge may allow for several types of enduser interaction. For example, the end user may be allowed to click onlinks within the badge in order to cause the browser to display anotherwebpage related to a link. More specifically, an end user may click on anews story headline and cause the browser to bring up the entire newsstory. Alternatively, the end user may click on one of the displayedsecurities and obtain a webpage describing that security in detail.Furthermore, the end user may use a text entry field in the badge inorder to enter the symbol for another security and to view a webpagedescribing that security in detail.

Another type of end user interaction refers to interactions which do notcause a new webpage to be displayed but merely cause changes in thebadge itself. For example, a badge which is configured to showindividual charts may show only a single chart which refers to a singlesecurity at a time and show other securities in quote format. An enduser may click on one of the quotes for the other securities to causethe badge to show a chart for that particular security. Similarly, abadge configured to show multiple securities and news headlines may onlyshow news stories related to one security. A user may then click on thebadge to obtain headlines about other securities.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example badge 300 according to embodiments ofthe present invention. The badge shown in FIG. 3 is defined by thereference text included in Appendix A. It can be seen that the badgeincludes three quotes, quote 302 for FORD MOTOR CO. (symbol F), quote301 for Yahoo (symbol YHOO) and quote 303 for ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES(symbol AMD). The quotes include prices, expanded company names as wellas additional optional information (such as the name of the exchangewhere they are traded).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 each one of the quotes may beexpanded to provide additional information about the company. Theadditional information is placed in detailed information field 304. Anend user may expand a quote by clicking on it in the badge. In FIG. 3,the Ford quote is expanded.

The additional information in the detailed information field may includea chart 305 as well as one or more news story headlines 306. The one ormore news story headlines may be related to the security with which thedetailed information field is associated (i.e., Ford).

The chart may include a chart of a single security (the one with whichthe detailed information field is associated with) or, if the comparisonchart option is chosen, the chart may include multiple superimposedgraphs each being associated with one of the securities displayed by thebadge. Accordingly, the chart 305 includes graphs 311, 312, and 313which are associated with the YAHOO, FORD and AMD securities,respectively. However, even in comparison mode the graph of thecurrently selected security (or, in other words, the security with whichthe detailed information field is associated, in this case, FORD) may bedisplayed in a different fashion (here it is displayed by filling in thearea below the graph with solid color) in order to underscore thatsecurity's selected status.

As discussed above, the end user may select another security by clickingon its quote, or click on one of the news headlines to obtain an entirenews story.

Additional features of the badge 300 may include a search field 315which may allow an end user to enter additional symbols for additionalsecurities. The entered symbol may be displayed in a new webpage, oralternatively, the entered symbol may be added to the quotes currentlydisplayed by the badge. The code defining the badge may perform tickervalidation when the user enters a new security in the search field.Thus, the badge may determine whether such a security exists, or evendisplay the full name of the security when the user is entering the nameof the security's symbol to ensure that the user is entering the correctsecurity. The badge may also include an advertisement 316.

Alternative embodiments may provide a badge with different or additionalfeatures than badge 300. For example, there may be functionalityprovided to modify the time period of the charts.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the electronic representation of thebadge 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The badgemay be organized as an HTML document which is retrieved and renderedwithin an inline frame (iframe) defined by the reference text.

The badge may include some HTML code 401 which may define the overallstructure of the badge, some background colors, some border elements,and some other features which do not require high level ofinteractivity. In some embodiments, features of the badge that have nointeractivity or only include links to other webpages (such as, e.g.,advertisement 316) are defined in the HTML portion of the badge. TheHTML portion further includes a reference to executable code 402 whichdefines the features of the badge which require a higher level ofinteractivity. In other words, the executable code may define featureswhich may be dynamically changed by interaction from the user, such as,e.g., the quotes 301-303, the detailed information field 304 and itscontents, the chart 305, etc.

The executable code 402 may be a JavaScript application. The application402 receives information defining clicks from the user and changes thebadge accordingly and dynamically. For example, if a user clicks on theYAHOO quote 301, the application may note that click and modify thedetailed information field so that it is placed directly under the YAHOOquote and so that it shows news headlines referring to YAHOO. Theapplication may further modify the stock chart 305, so that the YAHOOgraph is underscored.

The badge definition further includes data 403. The data may includeprice data for the various securities included in the badge which may beused by the application 402 to display quotes or to draw graphs. Thedata may further include headlines for news stories, etc. Theapplication 402 accesses the data 403 as needed in order to displayelements of the badge. For example, if the end user chooses anothersecurity, the application 402 may access the data 403 to obtain newsheadlines for that other security.

In some embodiments, the application 402 may access the badge server 101in order to obtain additional data needed to display needed elements ofthe badge. For example, referring to FIG. 3, the initial download of thebadge may not include any news headlines for AMD. If the userconsequently selects AMD, the application 402 may access badge server101 to obtain these headlines.

Because the reference text that causes the badge to be requested andretrieved may include unique identifiers of the publisher which createda particular badge as well as the badge itself, the operator of thebadge server may use this information to gather potentially valuabledata regarding the use badges. For example the badge server 101 may keeptrack of which publishers select which badges, at which webpages badgesare placed, which badges are popular with users, etc. Furthermore, sincea webpage including a badge usually causes the badge to be requestedeach time the webpage itself is requested, the badge server 101 maygather data as to how often the various webpages which include badgesare visited. The gathered data may also be provided to the publisher.

When a browser requests a badge from the badge server, the usual HTTPprotocol requires that the browser also include a reference to thewebpage for which the badge is being requested. This may assist thebadge server in logging information about badge use. Furthermore, thebadge server may retrieve the webpage which includes the badge beforesending the badge over to the browser in order to check the webpage forany inappropriate content. The badge server may then refuse to send thebadge to the browser, if the webpage where the badge is placed includesany inappropriate content. Thus, the operator of the badge server 101may protect its brand name, assist in ensuring decency online or achieveother goals by limiting the webpages in which the badge may be included.

Referring back to FIG. 1, it is noted that in some embodiments, thedefinition of the badge is stored as part of the reference text, whichis itself part of the definition of a webpage 107 stored at the webpageserver 104. Thus, the publisher, who is presumably in control of thewebpage 107, may change the definition of the badge by modifying thereference text. In some embodiments, modifying the reference text insuch a manner may be discouraged, or even prohibited.

However, some embodiments may benefit from the publisher's ability tomodify the reference text. More sophisticated publishers mayautomatically modify the reference text in order to match updates toother content of webpage 107. For example, if a publisher uses webpage107 to provide financial stories, the publisher may place a script, oran application at website server 104 which scans the current content ofany stories at webpage 107 for any mentions of traded companies or othertraded items, and automatically updates the reference text to includethe symbols of the mentioned traded items. Thus, when the badge isdisplayed as part of webpage 107, it will include information regardingthe companies or other traded items discussed in the news story.

While the invention has been described in terms of particularembodiments and illustrative figures, those of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments orfigures described. Although embodiments of the present invention aredescribed, in some instances, using World Wide Web terminology, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that such terms are also used in ageneric sense herein, and that the present invention is not limited tosuch systems.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the operations of thevarious embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software,firmware, or combinations thereof, as appropriate. Furthermore, a personof skill in the art would recognize that for each embodiment which isimplemented through software there may be a respective embodimentdirected to a modulated signal which includes said software. Forexample, some processes can be carried out using processors or otherdigital circuitry under the control of software, firmware, or hard-wiredlogic. (The term “logic” herein refers to fixed hardware, programmablelogic and/or an appropriate combination thereof, as would be recognizedby one skilled in the art to carry out the recited functions.) Softwareand firmware can be stored on computer-readable media. Some otherprocesses can be implemented using analog circuitry, as is well known toone of ordinary skill in the art. Additionally, memory or other storage,as well as communication components, may be employed in embodiments ofthe invention.

The term “real time” has been used throughout the present disclosure inconnection with the terms “information” or “data.” It should be notedthat the term “real time” does not impose any strict time relatedrequirement for the corresponding data or information. Thus, real timemay indicate that the data or information may reflect events thathappened seconds, minutes, hours, or even days ago. For example,publicly available financial information is usually published on theinternet with a delay of at least 15 minutes. This information wouldcertainly be considered to be real time for the purposes of the presentdisclosure. But information that is much older than that may also beconsidered real time. In general, the term real time requires that therespective information be time sensitive to a certain extent, so thatthe automatic update features disclosed herein are beneficial to webpublishers.

FIG. 5 illustrates a typical computing system 500 that may be employedto implement processing functionality in embodiments of the invention.Computing systems of this type may be used in the various servers, andthe end user's computer, for example. Those skilled in the relevant artwill also recognize how to implement the invention using other computersystems or architectures. Computing system 500 may represent, forexample, a desktop, laptop or notebook computer, hand-held computingdevice (PDA, cell phone, palmtop, etc.), mainframe, server, client, orany other type of special or general purpose computing device as may bedesirable or appropriate for a given application or environment.Computing system 500 can include one or more processors, such as aprocessor 504. Processor 504 can be implemented using a general orspecial purpose processing engine such as, for example, amicroprocessor, microcontroller or other control logic. In this example,processor 504 is connected to a bus 502 or other communications medium.

Computing system 500 can also include a main memory 508, such as randomaccess memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory, for storing information andinstructions to be executed by processor 504. Main memory 508 also maybe used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions to be executed by processor504. Computing system 500 may likewise include a read only memory(“ROM”) or other static storage device coupled to bus 502 for storingstatic information and instructions for processor 504.

The computing system 500 may also include information storage system510, which may include, for example, a media drive 512 and a removablestorage interface 520. The media drive 512 may include a drive or othermechanism to support fixed or removable storage media, such as a harddisk drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical diskdrive, a CD or DVD drive (R or RW), or other removable or fixed mediadrive. Storage media 518, may include, for example, a hard disk, floppydisk, magnetic tape, optical disk, CD or DVD, or other fixed orremovable medium that is read by and written to by media drive 514. Asthese examples illustrate, the storage media 518 may include acomputer-readable storage medium having stored therein particularcomputer software or data.

In alternative embodiments, information storage system 510 may includeother similar components for allowing computer programs or otherinstructions or data to be loaded into computing system 500. Suchcomponents may include, for example, a removable storage unit 522 and aninterface 520, such as a program cartridge and cartridge interface, aremovable memory (for example, a flash memory or other removable memorymodule) and memory slot, and other removable storage units 522 andinterfaces 520 that allow software and data to be transferred from theremovable storage unit 518 to computing system 500.

Computing system 500 can also include a communications interface 524.Communications interface 524 can be used to allow software and data tobe transferred between computing system 500 and external devices.Examples of communications interface 524 can include a modem, a networkinterface (such as an Ethernet or other NIC card), a communications port(such as for example, a USB port), a PCMCIA slot and card, etc. Softwareand data transferred via communications interface 524 are in the form ofsignals which can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or othersignals capable of being received by communications interface 524. Thesesignals are provided to communications interface 524 via a channel 528.This channel 528 may carry signals and may be implemented using awireless medium, wire or cable, fiber optics, or other communicationsmedium. Some examples of a channel include a phone line, a cellularphone link, an RF link, a network interface, a local or wide areanetwork, and other communications channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program product,”“computer-readable medium” and the like may be used generally to referto media such as, for example, memory 508, storage device 518, orstorage unit 522. These and other forms of computer-readable media maystore one or more instructions for use by processor 504, to cause theprocessor to perform specified operations. Such instructions, generallyreferred to as “computer program code” (which may be grouped in the formof computer programs or other groupings), when executed, enable thecomputing system 500 to perform functions of embodiments of the presentinvention. Note that the code may directly cause the processor toperform specified operations, be compiled to do so, and/or be combinedwith other software, hardware, and/or firmware elements (e.g., librariesfor performing standard functions) to do so.

In an embodiment where the elements are implemented using software, thesoftware may be stored in a computer-readable medium and loaded intocomputing system 500 using, for example, removable storage drive 514,drive 512 or communications interface 524. The control logic (in thisexample, software instructions or computer program code), when executedby the processor 504, causes the processor 504 to perform the functionsof the invention as described herein.

It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above descriptionhas described embodiments of the invention with reference to differentfunctional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that anysuitable distribution of functionality between different functionalunits, processors or domains may be used without detracting from theinvention. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed byseparate processors or controllers may be performed by the sameprocessor or controller. Hence, references to specific functional unitsare only to be seen as references to suitable means for providing thedescribed functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical orphysical structure or organization.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withsome embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific formset forth herein. Rather, the scope of the present invention is limitedonly by the claims. Additionally, although a feature may appear to bedescribed in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in theart would recognize that various features of the described embodimentsmay be combined in accordance with the invention.

Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means,elements or method steps may be implemented by, for example, a singleunit or processor. Additionally, although individual features may beincluded in different claims, these may possibly be advantageouslycombined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that acombination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. Also, theinclusion of a feature in one category of claims does not imply alimitation to this category, but rather the feature may be equallyapplicable to other claim categories, as appropriate.

APPENDIX A (example of reference text) <!-- Start of Yahoo! Finance code--> <iframe allowtransparency=“true” marginwidth=“0” marginheight=“0”hspace=“0” vspace=“0” frameborder=“0” scrolling=“no”src=“http://api.finance.yahoo.com/instrument/1.0/YHOO,F,AMD/badge;chart=ly,,comparison;news=3;quote/HTML/f.white?AppID=CQRTGrimDnW.GjspC2vDI8fUew_rTg--&sig=tRYQcb3IQlzkRxU9Lb.JB_4ytp0-&t=1161144492791” width=“200px”height=“700px”></iframe> <!-- End of Yahoo! Finance code -->

1. A method for providing a remotely hosted element to a first visualinformation unit, the method comprising: allowing a first user toconfigure a remotely hosted element; providing the first user with areference text related to the remotely hosted element; receiving arequest from a second user's browser, the request including at least aportion of the reference text; obtaining the first user's configurationbased on the reference text; accessing a database to obtain real timeinformation referred to by the first user's configuration; creating adigital definition of the remotely hosted element based on the firstuser's configuration and the real time information; and sending thedigital definition to the second user's browser.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the first user is a publisher of the first visual informationunit, and the second user is an end user of a browser displaying thefirst visual information unit.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thereal time information comprises financial information.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the real time information comprises informationsufficient to define one or more elements selected from the groupconsisting of: a financial quote, a financial chart, a headline of anews story.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein: allowing the first userto configure the remotely hosted element further includes allowing thefirst user to specify one or more securities; accessing a database toobtain real time information further includes selecting one or morearticles each of which relates to at least one of the one or moresecurities selected by the first user; and creating a digital definitionof the remotely hosted element further includes adding headlines of theselected news stories to the digital definition of the remotely hostedelement.
 6. The method of claim 1, further including requesting thefirst user to include the reference text in the definition of the firstvisual information unit.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method isexecuted by a server, and the reference text is operable to cause abrowser to send a request to the server, the request including at leasta portion of the reference text.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thereference text includes text defining the first user's configuration. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a serverincluding a memory and providing the first user with a reference textfurther includes: assigning an identification to the remotely hostedelement; saving the user's configuration at the server's memory, so thatthe saved configuration is associated with the identification; andplacing the identification in the reference text; and wherein obtainingthe first user's configuration based on the reference text furtherincludes: obtaining the identification from the reference text; andretrieving the user's information based on the identification.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein creating the digital definition of theremotely hosted element further comprises: placing the real timeinformation in a first portion of the digital definition of the remotelyhosted element; and placing computer executable code in a second portionof the digital definition of the remotely hosted element, wherein thecomputer executable code comprises a web application that, when executedby a browser, is operative to display at least some of the real timeinformation in a visual information unit as a part of the remotelyhosted element.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the web application,when executed by a browser, is further operative to allow the seconduser to interact with the remotely hosted element.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the web application allows the second user to interactwith the remotely hosted element to cause the remotely hosted element todisplay information from the real time information which was notinitially displayed.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the webapplication allows the second user to interact with the remotely hostedelement in order to request additional real time information which isnot part of the real time information initially included in the digitaldefinition of the remotely hosted element, and wherein the webapplication is further operative to request the additional real timeinformation from a remote server and display the additional real timeinformation.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a digitaldefinition of the remotely hosted element further includes: inserting afirst identification associated with the first user into the referencetext; and inserting a second identification associated with the remotelyhosted element in the reference text; the method further comprising:after the request including at least a portion of the reference text hasbeen received, obtaining the first and second identifications from thereference text, and using said identifications to provide trackinginformation.
 15. The method of claim 1, further including: obtainingfrom the received request a reference of the first visual informationunit, said reference indicating that the request was initiated by thefirst visual information unit; requesting the first visual informationunit; and scanning the first visual information unit to determinewhether it includes any inappropriate content, wherein the sending ofthe digital definition is performed only after a determination that thefirst visual information unit does not include any inappropriatecontent.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein allowing the first user toconfigure a remotely hosted element further includes allowing the firstuser to interact with a second visual information unit as part ofconfiguring the remotely hosted element.
 17. A system for providing aremotely hosted element to a first visual information unit, comprising:a publisher interface module operable to provide an interface forallowing a publisher of the first visual information unit to configure aremotely hosted element, derive a reference text from the configurationof the remotely hosted element, send the reference text to thepublisher; and an end user interface module operable to receive arequest from an end user's browser, the request including at least aportion of the reference text, obtain the publisher's configurationbased on the reference text, access a database to obtain real timeinformation referred to by the publisher's configuration, create adigital definition of the remotely hosted element based on thepublisher's configuration and the real time information, and respond tothe request, the response including the remotely hosted element.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the real time information comprisesfinancial information.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the real timeinformation comprises information relating to one or more elementsselected from the group consisting of: a financial quote, a financialchart, and a headline of a news story.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein: the publisher interface is further operable to allow thepublisher to specify one or more securities; the end user interface isfurther operable to select one or more news stories each news storybeing related with at least one of the one or more securities selectedby the first user, and to add headlines of the selected news stories tothe digital definition of the remotely hosted element as part of thereal time information.
 21. The system of claim 17, wherein the publisherinterface is operable to request the first user to include the referencetext in the definition of the first visual information unit.
 22. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the reference text includes text definingthe publisher's configuration.
 23. The system of claim 17, wherein theend user interface is operable to create the digital definition of theremotely hosted element by combining real time information and a webapplication in the digital definition of the remotely hosted element,wherein the web application, when executed by a browser, is operative todisplay at least some of the real time information in a visualinformation unit as a part of the remotely hosted element.
 24. Thesystem of claim 23, wherein the web application, when executed by abrowser, is further operative to allow the second user to interact withthe remotely hosted element.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the webapplication allows the second user to interact with the remotely hostedelement to cause the remotely hosted element to display information fromthe real time information which was not initially displayed.
 26. Thesystem of claim 24, wherein the web application allows the second userto interact with the remotely hosted element in order to requestadditional real time information which is not part of the real timeinformation initially included in the digital definition of the remotelyhosted element, and wherein the web application is further operative torequest the additional real time information from a remote server anddisplay the additional real time information.
 27. The system of claim17, wherein the publisher interface module is operable to insert twoidentifications associated with the publisher and the remotely hostedelement, respectively, in the reference text, the system furtherincluding a tracking module which is operable to track the use of theremotely hosted element by noting the identifications in reference textsextracted from various incoming requests.
 28. The system of claim 17,further comprising a filtering module which is operable to obtain areference of the first visual information unit from the incomingrequest, request and obtain the first visual information unit based onthe reference, scan the first visual information unit for inappropriatematerial, and allow the end user interface to send out the digitaldefinition of the remotely hosted element only if the first visualinformation unit does not include inappropriate material.
 29. The systemof claim 17, wherein the publisher interface module is further operableto present a second visual information unit to the publisher, and allowthe publisher to utilize the second visual information unit to configurethe remotely hosted element.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein thesecond visual information unit is dynamic and includes a display of theremotely hosted element, which changes in real time as the publisherchooses various configuration options in order to match theconfiguration options chosen by the publisher.
 31. A computer readablemedium comprising computer executable instructions for providing aremotely hosted element to a first visual information unit, theinstructions for causing the performance of a method comprising:allowing a first user to configure a remotely hosted element; providingthe first user with a reference text related to the remotely hostedelement; receiving a request from a second user's browser, the requestincluding at least a portion of the reference text; obtaining the firstuser's configuration based on the reference text; accessing a databaseto obtain real time information referred to by the first user'sconfiguration; creating a digital definition of the remotely hostedelement based on the first user's configuration and the real timeinformation; and sending the digital definition to the second user'sbrowser.
 32. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein the firstuser is a publisher of the first visual information unit, and the seconduser is an end user of a browser displaying the first visual informationunit.
 33. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein the realtime information comprises financial information.
 34. The computerreadable medium of claim 33, wherein the real time information comprisesone or more elements selected from the group consisting of: a financialquote, a financial chart, a headline of a news story.
 35. The computerreadable medium of claim 34, wherein: allowing the first user toconfigure the remotely hosted element further includes allowing thefirst user to specify one or more securities; accessing a database toobtain real time information further includes selecting one or more newsstories each of which relates to at least one of the one or moresecurities selected by the first user; and creating a digital definitionof the remotely hosted element further includes adding headlines of theselected news stories to the digital definition of the remotely hostedelement.
 36. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein themethod further includes requesting the first user to include thereference text in the definition of the first visual information unit.37. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein the instructionsare executed by a server, and the reference text is operational to causea browser to send a request to the server, the request including atleast a portion of the reference text.
 38. The computer readable mediumof claim 31, wherein the reference text includes text defining the firstuser's configuration.
 39. The computer readable medium of claim 31,wherein the instructions are executed by a server including a memory andproviding the first user with a reference text further includes:assigning an identification to the remotely hosted element; saving theuser's configuration at the server's memory, so that the savedconfiguration is associated with the identification; and placing theidentification in the reference text; and wherein obtaining the firstuser's configuration based on the reference text further includes:obtaining the identification from the reference text; and retrieving theuser's information based on the identification.
 40. The computerreadable medium of claim 31, wherein creating the digital definition ofthe remotely hosted element further comprises: placing the real timeinformation in a first portion of the digital definition of the remotelyhosted element; and placing a web application in a second portion of thedigital definition of the remotely hosted element, wherein the webapplication, when executed by a browser, is operative to display atleast some of the real time information in a visual information unit asa part of the remotely hosted element.
 41. The computer readable mediumof claim 40, wherein the web application, when executed by a browser, isfurther operative to allow the second user to interact with the remotelyhosted element.
 42. The computer readable medium of claim 41, whereinthe web application allows the second user to interact with the remotelyhosted element to cause the remotely hosted element to displayinformation from the real time information which was not initiallydisplayed.
 43. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the webapplication allows the second user to interact with the remotely hostedelement in order to request additional real time information which isnot part of the real time information initially included in the digitaldefinition of the remotely hosted element, and wherein the webapplication is further operative to request the additional real timeinformation from a remote server and display the additional real timeinformation.
 44. The computer readable medium of claim 31, whereincreating a digital definition of the remotely hosted element furtherincludes: inserting a first identification associated with the firstuser into the reference text; and inserting a second identificationassociated with the remotely hosted element in the reference text; themethod further comprising: after the request including at least aportion of the reference text has been received, obtaining the first andsecond identifications from the reference text, and using saididentifications to provide tracking information.
 45. The computerreadable medium of claim 31, wherein the method further includes:obtaining from the received request a reference of the first visualinformation unit, said reference indicating that the request wasinitiated by the first visual information unit; requesting the firstvisual information unit; receiving the first visual information unit;and scanning the first visual information unit to determine whether itincludes any inappropriate content, wherein the sending of the digitaldefinition is performed only after a determination that the first visualinformation unit does not include any inappropriate content.
 46. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 31, wherein allowing the first user toconfigure a remotely hosted element further includes allowing the firstuser to interact with a second visual information unit as part ofconfiguring the remotely hosted element.
 47. A modulated data signalcomprising encoded data, the encoded data comprising computer executableinstructions for providing e remotely hosted element to a first visualinformation unit, the instructions for the performance of a method,comprising: enabling a first user to configure a remotely hostedelement; providing the first user with a reference text related to theremotely hosted element; receiving a request from a second user'sbrowser, the request including at least a portion of the reference text;accessing a database to obtain real time information; obtaining thefirst user's configuration based on the reference text; creating adigital definition of the remotely hosted element based on the firstuser's configuration and the real time information; and sending thedigital definition to the second user's browser.